Pete the vet With Pete Wedderburn – Puppy love: How to deal with a chewing dog

MANY dogs just love chewing. Chewing is a normal, natural way for puppies to learn about their environment. It is one of the first behaviours that puppies start to practise once they leave their motherâ€â„¢s den. As they grow older, there are different reasons for chewing. In adolescence, as dogs lose their teeth between the ages of three and six months, chewing may help them to shed their junior teeth. Some dogs chew as part of scavenging behaviour: they are just hungry and looking for anything edible. Most adult dogs that chew are simply satisfying their natural urge to chew and gnaw. It is an instinct that helps to keep their teeth and gums healthy. At the same time, all behaviour can be influenced by a dogâ€â„¢s owner and if a dog does chew excessively, careful steps need to be taken to lessen the destruction. As an owner, the first thing to check is that you are not accidentally encouraging your dogâ€â„¢s undesirable chewing behaviour. If you inadvertently reward a dog when he chews objects, this will make him chew them even more. For example, if you give him a treat to distract him or if you give him any sort of attention, he may see this as a reward. Even if you shout at him and tell him that he is bold, he may see this as enjoyable attention from you. You need to carefully analyse how you react to him when he chews things other than toys. The next step is to provide your dog with a good outlet for his energy. Some dogs chew because they are bored. Dogs need to have plenty of good, safe ways of burning up mental and physical energy. Taking him for a long walk or a jog twice daily can help. Games such as throwing and retrieving balls or frisbees can be very helpful. You could also consider activities like agility or obedience classes that will keep your dog stimulated both physically and mentally. All of these activities involve desirable activity by the dog and positive attention from the owner, which is what you are trying to achieve. It can be helpful to redirect chewing behaviour towards objects that you want him to chew, discouraging pets from chewing â€Å“badâ€Â objects and giving him positive feedback for chewing â€Å“goodâ€Â objects. Some natural objects (such as pieces of wood) can be chewed reasonably safely but there is the risk of splinters or sharp edges that can cause problems. Some toys that are specially manufactured to be as indestructible as possible can be made more attractive by coating them with something tasty, such as cheese spread or liver pate. As well as this, you need to give your dog lots of rewards and positive feedback for â€Å“goodâ€Â chewing. Give him treats, give him lots of attention and play with him. Next, you need to discourage him from chewing items that you want him to leave alone. This can mean spraying on bitter-tasting sprays so that he gets a mild but unpleasant surprise when he starts to chew. If he is left alone in the house during the day, you need to confine him to a small area where he cannot do any damage when he is alone. Often, it can be worth buying a large, safe, wire-mesh cage to keep him enclosed for periods when you cannot monitor him directly. Leave him in the cage with a toy that you want him to chew. â€Å“Badâ€Â chewing can be cured, but you need to be persistent and determined. And you need to be more persistent and determined than a dog that loves chewing!